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Spaghetti Junction

mikejee

mikejee

Super Moderator
Staff member
I hear that repairs are due to start on the above tomorrow (or today in 15 mins ). Thought people might like to remember what it was like nearly 40 years ago. Sorry the colour and photography isn't brilliant, but part of the reason is that they are transparencies and have faded
Mike


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18B__Spaghetti_Junction_buildingA.jpg
 
Thanks for sharing those photos Mike; the junction holds a special meaning for me as they built it almost above the cycling track where I set so many records. Though I didn't know it then the track, like so many of my Brum memories, would eventually disappear with all these new 'improvements'.
​

Graham.​
 
mikejee,I remember it well because I drove a tipper lorry removing the soil from the pile holes where the support pillars are planted. You may already know but they have a large drill type of thing on a crane. It drills until the soil is coming out of the hole, then the drill stops and is lifted out and the soil is shook off. The drill is then put back in and restarted until the soil overflows again. Is quite a quick proccess really.
 
Sorry the colour and photography isn't brilliant, but part of the reason is that they are transparencies and have faded
Mike[/quote]

Mike,

This may be of interest to you, after I have scanned slides on my Epson 2480 Photo scanner I select colour restore and it brings them back to original colour.
 
Thanks Darby
Not sure if that would work in this case. As shown they've already been tinkered with a bit. I use a Canon 9950F. It doesn't have a colour restore button, but you can play around before you scan and save . Will probably have another play and try and get better.
Mike
 
My name is Emma Forde and I work for BBC WM, I’m just writing to see if you might be able to help me with something?

I’m putting together some features leading up to 40[SUP]th[/SUP] anniversary of Spaghetti Junction and I’m looking for people who lived nearby during its construction?
Ideally, I’m trying to find someone who had their house demolished or had to move because of its construction and wondered if you might know of anyone?
If you could help me in anyway, I would very much appreciate it!
 
My Grandfather commited suicide in his house in Park Rd when they wanted to move him. He lived right over the road from the church.
 
I recieved a message from Emma Forbes about the time I spent driving a tipper lorry removing soil or earth from the site. I really do not have any memories about it because it was just another job to me. I worked for a firm (W.J. Law & Sons.) myself and another man were contracted out to the firm building the junction and our job was to take away the earth and clay from the holes bored by a large machine. The holes were to accomodate the pillars that support the elevated sections. The holes were a metre or a little more in diameter and very deep. A steel tube was inserted first then filled with concrete. Metal re-enforcing bars were also inside the concrete, the column was continued above ground level to the required height with the steel bars throughout. The soil/earth/clay was taken to other areas that required the level raising a little with any excess being taken to disused quarries local to Birmingham,
stitcher
 
Oh that is so sad. It is a pity that he was not able to get help with his feelings at the time, it may have prevented such a terrible thing. I am sure he was not the only one though, it must have been quite a dreadful thing to be uprooted, especially if you were rather old at the time.
 
Salford Bridge, the Power Station and Spaghetti junction as a construction site were some of my favourite places to play as a young lad.

I was all over that site, inside the box section girders, up the scaffolding, and can remember those gigantic augers they used to drill those steel tube lined holes for the foundations.

If my mother knew what we got up to and where, she wouldhave had kittens.

Quite a few times we would walk from the flyover at Dyas Road, all the way along the yet unopened motorway to Spaghetti junction, then climbdown a long pole ladder right down to the bank of the river Tame.
 

On May 24th 2012 Spachetti will be 40 Years old since its opening on that day in 1972 ........ ragga :friendly_wink:


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Thanks for the article Ragga, makes interesting reading.
Frothy, hope you are going to sing happy birthday to it then lol - did you work on all of it or just certain sections - it must have been an enormous feat co-ordinating all the roads to meet,in the right places.
The German exchange student that stayed with my friend in 1976 had Spaghetti as one of her top places to visit!
Sue
 
sistersue61 said:
Thanks for the article Ragga, makes interesting reading.
Frothy, hope you are going to sing happy birthday to it then lol - did you work on all of it or just certain sections - it must have been an enormous feat co-ordinating all the roads to meet,in the right places.
The German exchange student that stayed with my friend in 1976 had Spaghetti as one of her top places to visit!
Sue
Click to expand...

I worked on the 3 mile section from junction 5 to junction 6. I would like to tell you some stories but I would probably be dragged to court for liable
 
maybe its best you don't then, I'm not happy on there, even though I know the routes quite well, Mick had his major bike accident between J6 and 7 and he hates me driving up that section, which makes me nervous too!
Sue
 
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